12th District Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments in Batavia

BATAVIA, Ohio (March 15, 2017) — The Ohio Twelfth District Court of Appeals, one of 12 courts of appeal in Ohio, will be in Batavia on Tuesday, March 21, to hear oral arguments on two appeals. The arguments will take place at 10:30 a.m. in the courtroom of Judge Jerry R. McBride on the 2nd floor of the Clermont County Common Pleas Courthouse. The arguments are open to the public and will be attended by a class from Milford High School.

The three-judge panel hearing the arguments will consist of Judge Robert P. Ringland, Judge Robert A. Hendrickson and Judge Michael E. Powell. The attorneys arguing the appeals will be available to answer questions from the students after the arguments are finished.

The first case that will be argued is State v. Fridley, Clermont CA2016-06-041. Barry Fridley pled no contest to aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault in 2015.  In December 2015 he was sentenced to a total of seven years in prison.  He did not appeal immediately but was granted leave to file a delayed appeal in May 2016.  He has raised three assignments of error concerning the denial of a motion to suppress evidence, the imposition of consecutive sentences, and ineffective assistance of trial counsel.

The second case that will be argued is State v. Kaili Fitzgerald, Clermont CA2016-06-041. Kaili Fitzgerald and her husband Michael were both charged with child endangerment due to their infant son’s failure to thrive. Because the court determined that the child suffered serious physical harm, the offense was a 3rd degree felony. Kaili Fitzgerald was convicted and sentenced to five years of community control. She filed an appeal claiming that her conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence because the evidence did not show that the child suffered serious physical harm.

The Twelfth District Court of Appeals, currently located in the City Building in Middletown, Ohio, reviews cases from Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Fayette, Madison, Preble and Warren counties. The judges of the court currently include Judge Robert P. Ringland, Judge Robert A. Hendrickson, Judge Michael E. Powell, Judge Robin N. Piper and Judge Stephen W. Powell.

For further information:
Gary Scalf
Court Administrator
Clermont County Common Pleas Court
513-732-7394
gscalf@clermontcountyohio.gov